White paper on food safety
The Council took note of the progress report on the White Paper on Food Safety to be presented to the Feira European Council, in accordance with the Conclusions of the Helsinki European Council which asked the Council to examine as a matter of urgency the forthcoming Commission White Paper on food safety and instructed the Portuguese Presidency to present a progress report to the .Feira Council in June 2000.
The White Paper, forwarded by the Commission in January, has been examined by several Council formations on the following dates:
It is also to be noted that the Health Council, at its meeting of 29 June, will take stock of the state of play concerning this White Paper.
The Commission Communication on the precautionary principle
The Council took note of the progress report on the Commission Communication on the precautionary principle, to be forwarded to the Feira European Council, in accordance with the Conclusions of the Helsinki European Council which asked the Council to examine as a matter of urgency the forthcoming Commission communication on the precautionary principle and asked the Portuguese Presidency to present a progress report to the June European Council.
The communication was presented to the Council on 4 February 2000. It was given a first reading by the Friends of the Presidency Group, which had been asked mainly to examine the White Paper on food safety. The Presidency drew up a report at the close of this examination on the understanding that the communication would require further consideration.